Sparkling Personality

Notes on some recently arrived 2004's.

2004 Thibault Liger-Belair Haut-Cotes de Nuits 'Clos du Prieure'.
Nose reveals subtle red fruits with nice spices and perfume. Colour is a deep red - very viscous. Palate continues the nose, great width in the palate - purity and weight. Very classy for a mere Haut-Cotes.

2004 Digioia-Royer Bourgogne Rouge.
Perfume and weight in abundance. No coarseness or hard edges. Drinks way above its humble ranking - as good as many makers village wines. Sensational.



2004 Morey-St-Denis Guy Castagnier.
Great purity and finesse. One thing in common with these 2004's is that the flavours are on the red-fruit, cherry, perfume end of the flavour spectrum. Quite the opposite to the very ripe plummy 2003's. Great colour. Delightfull.










2004 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-St-Georges Les St Georges.
Very dark in colour, viscous and dense. Nose reveals red fruits, asian spices and a hint of oak. Palate carries the nose - very pure fruit driven intense style. I am normally not a great fan of Nuits-St-Georges but this may change my mind. Seamless - classy - in fact - sensational !!!!



2004 Albert Morot Beaune Cent-Vignes.
I am normally not a great fan of 'red bones' but this may make me eat my hat. Opened up quite closed and un-forgiving. Again subtle red fruits but a little dumb. On the second day this had opended up considerably. Good weight and complexity - lovely spice and red cherries. A beautiful drink over the next 12 months. Delicious.

NV Duval-Leroy Fleur de Champagne
Color is pure green gold but the nose is a little stinky and unclean. Palate carries the dirty harsh characters. Notes similar to a bottle tasted earlier in the year. Maybe this has been recently disgorged and only just arrived. Average to fair.

NV Raymond Boulard Grand Cru Mailly
Hints of vanilla and oak on a very pure base. Intense and quite rich. Super fine mousse. Oozes class. Very Good.

NV Devaux Grande Reserve
Predominantly Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay from a Co-op in the Aube. Nice width and richness - a robust style but maybe just a little clumsy and disjointed to be truly great, but that is being very fussy,a very nice drink and fair value with good Aube typicity. Good.

NV 'R' de Ruinart Brut.
Again I get lots of sulphur and hardness. Clumsy and a little weak. Again maybe just disgorged and just arrived. OK.

NV Tarlant Brut Tradition.
Intense, pure, long, unctuous, great balance. Superb.

NV Prevost Pinot Meunier.
Lots and lots of oak. White Burgundy with bubbles. Not for me sorry. Average.

NV Regis-Fliniaux Rose.
A sweet sherbet finish but just a little too cloying and weak. Was enjoyable on the first sip but became less and less enjoyable. Average.

1995 Philliponnat Sublime Reserve.
A spicy developed SEC style. Has a little hardness on the finish but overall this would work well with the right food - dessert or even and aged chedar or parmesan. Good.

Dinner with Champagne disciples at our local Japanese restaurant.

Lilbert et Fils - Perle NV Cramant Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs.
Very mineral and damn tight. Colour is very very pale green. Maybe too young and needs another 12 months in the cellar. Fresh and youthfull with a real lime zest on the palate. Very good.

1998 Pierre Gimonnet Special Club Blanc de Blancs.
Good weight and intensity, quite soft and rich with great weight and persistance.Colour is becoming a little more devloped. Drinks well now and does not need any more cellar time. Very good.

1998 Diebolt-Vallois Fleur de Passion Cramant Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs.
Finesse and purity. Has the tell tale subtle citrus and chalk of Cramant. Probably the last great Fleur de Passion of recent vintages. Mousse is very fine and subtle, long and clean, no harshness, just length and elegance. Very impressive. Comments were made around the table that the 1999 and 2000 Fleur de Passions are no where as good as the 1998.



1996 Pierre Moncuit Non Dose Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs.Massive fruit and acid, tight and intense with adequate richness even though a 'non dose'. Will keep for decades. Quite superb.


2000 Rubis de Noir Rose Leclerc-Briant.
Big rose, almost a red wine with bubbles, but a great red wine. Perfect with duck or quail, we had it with raw beef. Very nice.

NV Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or.
Started off being sharp and sweet with the oak very much protruding. As the evening evolved this got worse and worse. Plenty of oak but no 'matiere' in the base wine to be of any real interest. 12/20

2000 Voirin-Jumel Grand Cru Cramant.
Toasty and lots of upfront flavour. Great Chardonnay purity and finesse, good drinking now and needs no cellaring. 16/20

NV Voirin-Jumel Grand Cru Cramant.
No less interesting than the 2000 Vintage wine. More youthfull, very pure Cramant style with elegant citrus and lime. 16/20

NV Roses de Jeanne Blanc de Noirs.
Aube wine from Celles-sur-Ource. A compact rich style but maybe just a little simple and lacking any freshness or interest. A tad boring. 13/20

2002 Nuits-St-Georges 'Les Meurgers' Domaine Hudelot-Noellat.
Pale and quite feeble on the nose and palate. Disappointing. Poor. 10/20

1998 Chambolle-Musigny 'Les Athets' Domaine Tardy.
Big rich oaky style. More like a Bordeaux than a Burgundy. Some people would like this style - I do not. 12/20

Tarlant La Vigne d'Antan
This is 100% Chardonnay from ungrafted pre-phylloxera rootstock. From a single vineyard - very sandy - Les Sables. Colour is very pale straw - fine persistant mousse. Nose is initially quite closed and delicate - but after 15 minutes aeration this builds to show classic Chardonnay minerals and intensity. Palate displays wonderful finesse, power and amazing purity. There are hints of white flowers coupled with subtle toastiness. A very special wine indeed.

Jacky Charpentier Cuvee Pierre Henri
100% Pinot Meunier from 55 year old vines, fermented and aged in small oak barriques with frequent battonage, no fining and no filtration. 80% 1999 with the remainder being reserve wines. Dosage of 9g/litre. Colour is a very enticing straw gold with hints of amber. Nose shows dried fruits, hazelnuts and hints of brioche. Palate is rich and luxurious with great weight and intensity.

1999 Diebolt-Vallois Fleur de Passion Cramant
Colour is a very pale lemon, intense fine mousse. Nose is very very delicate and not revealing much at the moment. Palate is very crisp and subtle but appears a little short and disjointed. Improved over 20 minutes in the glass. This will always be on the restrained side for a typical FdP. Nice for sure but I suspect the 1998 is more classic in style.


Raymond Boulard Petraea 1997-2001 Solera
Always an impressive wine from Francis - and this solera is one of the very best. Hints of smoke, mushroom and apple, very intense mousse, unctuous palate length with great concentration and perfect balance. Still a very elegant style and will survive 5 years in a cool cellar.60% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier - oak maturation and fermentation.

A lovely pale green/lemon colour with a very fine persistant mousse, nose is quite dumb and closed. Palate is rather neutral and weak showing very little Chardonnay character, weight or intensity, with very little toastiness or autolysis character whatsoever - finishes short and hard. Maybe this needed more time on lees and then more time in the bottle post disgorgement. Overall I expected a lot more - very disappointing indeed.

First time tasted in Australia. Colour is a light straw with brilliant clarity. Nose was very closed and dumb initially and needed 30 minutes to evolve. Then it revealed an intense smokey Chardonnay nose with hints of citron and lime. A number of people described this nose as the 'essence' of Chardonnay. The oak is subtle and integrated - not obtrusive. Palate reveals massive structure and intensity - very pure Chardonnay with heaps of acid. Rich and a classic to put in the cellar and forget for 10 years.

Pure 2001 from biodynamic vineyards in Cormicy planted in 1967. No herbicides and only natural fungicides. Fermented and aged in 6 vintage Burgundy barrels. Frequent battonage, no fining, no filtration and natural yeasts for first fermentation. This is pure 2001 with no reserve wines - no dosage - natural residual sugar of 3g/litre and hence an extra-brut.
Awesome and a tribute to the winemaking skills of Francis Boulard.

Leclerc-Briant Cuvee Reserve
Colour is a pale straw, very fine persistant mousse. Nose shows minerals, spice, with hints of smoke and almonds. Palate continues the same theme but there is a lovely quince character that persists onto a very long finish. A very enjoyable Champagne that can be enjoyed now. Biodynamic vineyards mainly from Cumieres. 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay.

Mid-week tasting of new arrivals.

Lilbert-Fils Carte Perle NV. 100% Chardonnay. This was previously known as "Cremant de Cramant". The normal Brut is tiraged to 6 atmospheres pressure whereas the Perle is tiraged to 4. Dosage of 6g/litre. Great mineral intensity- colour is very pale with hints of green - real lime citrus zest - pinpoint mousse and refreshing acid. A wonderfull aperitif style with great length. Has almost painfull piercing minerality and acid. Bertrand Lilbert makes the same quantity of this as his Vintage cuvee. Excellent.

Ledru Brut NV Ambonnay. A blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay with a dosage of 8g/litre. Colour shows hints of straw - mousse is very fine - there is apples and cinammon on the long palate - a food wine for sure. Sophisticated style with classic Ambonay richness. The Marie-Noelle Ledru style is all about vinosity and fruit. Very good at least and will improve with another month resting in a cool cellar.



Leclerc-Briant 2000 Rubis de Noirs Rose. Nose shows pinot spice in adundance. This is 100% Saignee Pinot. Mousse is very fine - palate is long, unctuous and very rich. A big wine with heaps of strawberry and smokey Pinot. Very different to your normal pink party fizz. Needs spicy quail, duck, veal or even venison. Tremendous.


Jean Vesselle Brut Reserve NV. Just the humble Reserve Cuvee but shows some nice finesse and elegance. 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. Very rich showing hints of Bouzy smoky spice. A very balanced and pure wine with the Chardonnay adding some nice mineral elegance. A very easy to appreciate style which is great as an aperitif also. Excellent.


Jacky Charpentier NV Brut Prestige.
What a cracker of a Champagne. Charpentier is in Villers-sous-Chatillon which is deep in Pinot territory north of the Marne. Subtle very fine mousse - which implies it has been tiraged at a slightly lower pressure to accentuate the vinous characteristics of this wine. 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. Nose of white flowers and red fruits with similar characteristics on the long palate. Pinot dominant palate but all in balance and total harmony. Full of finesse yet all powerfull at the same time. Sensational.